For the first time the quality of management practices in the Dutch manufacturing sector has been measured in an internationally comparable way. Dutch management is ranked sixth worldwide, behind the United States, Sweden and Germany.

The ECB could use Central Bank Securities to mop up liquidity. The use of this instrument may bring the additional advantage of the creation of a EMU-wide ‘safe asset’. This may bring advantages for the stability of the Eurozone.

Assessing US tax cuts, Italian public spending, and Fed or ECB policy all require a distinction between the 'cyclical' and 'structural'. But even when you who know the difference, it is easy to make a policy mistake.

EMU is vulnerable and must be strengthened. Much is possible within the current legal framework. Banking Union (incl. EDIS) must be completed and it is essential to create a pan-EMU safe asset. Moreover, the ECB needs more effective instruments.

In this Special we present our new nowcasting methodology for the Indian economy. Our combined model predicts an economic growth for calendar 2018Q4 of 6.3%, which would imply a significant slowdown of economic activity after the already disappointing GDP print of 7.1% in Q3.

The British Parliament rejected the EU-UK Brexit deal on 14 January in a historic defeat for the government. The vote was expected to be a unique opportunity to change the Brexit course, but instead it left us in the same uncertainty.

We expect the Japanese economy to recover moderately in the fourth quarter of 2018, and this will continue in the first quarter of 2019, but we do not foresee any surprises from the central bank in terms of policy changes. Inflation has not picked up yet, and risks remain tilted to the downside.